Dubbed as music’s number one night, the Grammy Awards is in its 55th year and hotter than ever. This year LL Cool J will be hosting the event for the second time in a row. The Grammy’s are for music like the Oscars are for acting. Grammy performances deliver to a wide range of music fans. It’s like an all-star concert in your living room, or wherever you are on the go.
If you can’t be at home in front of the television on Sunday, February 10th,2013 watching the award show on CBS, you can take the Grammys on the road with you. The Grammy Awards and promo events leading up to the big show will be streaming live starting at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST with pre-show coverage starting 5 p.m. EST. There’s even an app for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices that offers a live stream of events happening backstage. The mobile app for iPhone and iPad is a bit more robust offering live coverage surrounding the Grammy Awards event and a Grammy Radio featuring music of the nominees.
NEW THIS YEAR AT THE 55th GRAMMY AWARDS
Only the most popular award categories make prime time television, with 81 award categories there are many awards that don’t make the broadcast cut. This year three new categories have been added to the award ceremony by the Recording Academy, the group that established The Grammy Awards and acts as an arts advocacy and outreach organization. New categories include “Best Classical Compendium,” “Best Latin Jazz Album,” and “Best Urban Contemporary Album.” The four coveted awards of the General Category that get optimal exposure are the “Album of the Year,” “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” and “Best New Artist.”
The Grammy Awards don’t just highlight mainstream music like pop, rap, country, and rock music. The Grammy’s cover every genre of music available today. There are categories for “Best Dance/Electronica Album,” “Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano),” “Best World Music Album,” “Best Spoken Word Album,” and more.
POPULAR GRAMMY AWARD NOMINEES: SKRILLEX, THE BLACK KEYS, AND FUN.
Skrillex, the electronic musician and singer-songwriter, is again a powerful force to reckon with at this year’s Grammy’s. In the past Skrillex has won his share of Grammy Awards. He was nominated for five Grammy Awards at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012 and won in three categories including “Best Dance/Electronica Album,” “Best Dance Recording,” and “Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.” This year, Skrillex is nominated for three categories: “Best Dance Recording,” “Best Dance/Electronica Album,” and “Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.” To get a feel for his music check out his video for Bangarang featuring Sirah.
The Black Keys has earned five Grammy nominations this year including “Album of the Year,” “Record of the Year,” “Rock Performance,” “Rock Song – Lonely Boy,” and “Rock Album” Check out the official video for their song Lonely Boy below.
The band Fun. is in the running for an award from all the major categories including “Best New Artist,” “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” and “Album of the Year.” The band hasn’t come out of nowhere; the band released the record Aim and Ignite in 2009. Fun. front man Nate Ruess was the lead singer of the band The Format for years. To see what all the excitement around this band is check out the music video of their popular hit We Are Young below.
CLASSIC PERFORMANCES AT THE 55th GRAMMY AWARDS
Although a career in the music world can be fleeting, there are a few performers who remain relevant for decades. Of these few performers, there are even fewer who have garnered enough praise and recognition to be rewarded with Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Their significant contributions to music are widely recognized. Past awards have been given to mega-stars like James Brown, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, and The Funk Brothers. This year’s recipients of Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award include Ravi Shankar, The Temptations, Carole King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Patti Page, Glenn Gould, and Charlie Haden.
Aside from the music, witty commentary from show hosts and presenters keep viewers tuned in and the show entertaining. During the 2010 Grammy Awards host Stephen Colbert mourned the absence of Susan Boyle, the famed Scottish woman with the amazing voice who in Colbert’s words was a cat lady who saved the music industry. The following year, 2011, and again in 2012 Boyle was nominated for a Grammy. If ever there was a wildly popular singer who rose from obscurity to be nominated for a Grammy without winning, it was Boyle.
PREVIEW GRAMMY NOMINEE VIDEOS
You can preview Grammy nominees by watching music videos and interviews on YouTube. Get your fill of all the talent by watching before the show. Here are a few worth checking out:
Special Consensus: Nominee for “Best Bluegrass Album” performs their hit Scratch Gravel Road.
Blake Shelton: He’s not just one of the stars of the hit TV show The Voice; he’s also a country mega-star. Shelton is a nominee for “Best Country Solo Performance” for his song Over.
Jimmy Fallon: Get the idea behind his album Blow Your Pants Off, which was nominated for Best Comedy Album.
Who are some of you favorite music artists? Will you watch The 55th Grammy Awards live online this year? Who are you rooting for? Share your comments below.
Alane Jewel is a journalist, online marketer, and professional artist. She is a social jack of all trades and loves reinventing herself every couple years. She has been a women's magazine editor, newspaper columnist, retail buyer, and fine art artist. She loves sci-fi and to travel, write, paint, and spend her free time sharing all of her business on her social networks. She lives north of Pittsburgh with her husband, Steve, and a large beast of a Great Dane, Duke.